Wrapping band and securing means



June 9, 1942.

J. W. STEELE WRAPPING BAND AND SECURING MEANS Filed April 14, @941 INVENToR. J. W `5' ee/e, By Q A TTORNEYS.

Patented June 9, 1942 luntreu T O F F I C E 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to wrapping bands and securing means therefor, or means for holding the ends of the band together, with particular reference to the type of band wrappers which are placed around garments and the like after the same have been laundered and folded, for ho'lding them in a neatly and compa-ctly folded condition.

It is therefore the primary object of the invention to provide a band of this character having a more efficient type of securing er holding means for the ends of the band, and utilizing an improved locking structure which dispenses with glue or lpaste or pins or other accessories for holding the band securely in place after being wrapped about the garment.

The improved band construction therefore consists in providing the band with a more eicient type of fastening or holding means formed as a part of the band itself, which is cut or stamped to provide a holding means having improved characteristics over bands of this type which have heretofore been used.

With this general object in View the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing illustrating practical embodiments of my improved band and fastening construction, after which those features and combinations which I regard as both novel and patentable will be particularly set forth and claimed.

In the drawing- Figure l is a perspective view of a folded shirt having applied thereto a wrapping band of the type to which the present invention refers;

Figure 2 is a plan view (partly broken away) of the opposite side of the wrapped garment, to show the holding or fastening means;

Figure 3 represents a sectional view, being a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective detail view showing the ends of the band in the process of being fastened;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view, similar to Figure 2, but showing a slightly different locking relation of the band ends;

Figure 6 is a sectional detail View, representing a section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 'l is a plan view of the band before being applied to the garment;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary plan View similar to Figure 5, illustrating a modified form of the locking construction for the ends of the band;

Figure 9 is a sectional detail view, representing a section taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 8; and

Figure 10 is a plan view (partly broken away) of said modied band construction, before being applied to the garment.

The present invention involves certain improved features of construction in a wrapping band of the type disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,986,649 dated January 1, 1935.

Bands of this character, such as indicated at I2 in the drawing, are constructed of suitable flexible material such as paper, and of suicient length for wrapping around a folded shirt I4 or the like, with the ends of the band extending into overlapping relation, as illustrated in Figures 2, 5 and 8.

These overlapping end portions of the band are suitably cut or punched, as explained in my prior patent, to provide cooperative fastening or securing elements for holding the ends of the band in place after it has been applied in wrapping relation to the folded garment.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and more particularly to Figures 1 to 7, these views illustrate one form'of construction in which the band is provided at one end with a' tongue I5 connected with thebody of the band bya reduced neck portionv I6. The opposite end portion of the band is cut to provide, at some d istance from that end of the band, a pair of intersecting slits I8 through which the tongue I5 may be inserted for interlocking engagement of the`band ends, with said ends in overlapping relation as illustrated in Figures 2 to 6.

As will be evident from Figure 4, the cutting of the slits I8 produces a set of V-shaped tabs 20 adapted to swing open .(in the well-known double-door fashion) to admit the tongue I5 when the said tongue is thrust through the slits for locking the ends of the band. The angle and length of the slits' are also such that the ends of the slits nearest the end of the band are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the neck portion I6 of the tongue I5. Hence on insertion of the tongue I5 entirely through the slit structure, the locking action may be carried out in either of two ways. One method is by folding the tongue back beneath the overlapping end portions of the band simultaneously with the folding back of the corresponding tab element 2U, along a fold line 2| connecting the corresponding ends of the slits I8; in this case the band ends are held securely fastened by engagement of the fold edge 2| with the folded portion of the neck I6 of the tongue after the latter has been swung back beneath the overlapping ends of the `band, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. An alternative method may be carried out by simply engaging the shoulders I 5 at the base of the tongue I5 with the ends of the slits I8, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6; hence, even though the operator should fail to fold the tongue back as in the first method, a secure locking action will nevertheless be produced by this second or alternative method, withoutany folding back of the tongue I5.

This improved construction obviously has the same advantages as my prior band and fastening construction as described in the patent above referred to, in the wrapping of the shirt in a folded and entirely unbuttoned condition by a wrapping band having the holding or fastening means formed as a part of the band itself, and in which the projection of the tongue into position beneath the band and against the garment serves to hold the ends of the band in securely fastened relation by a partly frictional action and without the need of any adhesive or pins or other fastening means of any sortwith their Wellknown objections. All the wearer of the garment does is to break the band and allow the shirt folds to simply fall apart, and the entire garment at once opens up, ready for use.

However the improved construction has still further important features of advantage. The method of cutting the band to produce the slit structure results in side margins that afford the operator more leeway in grasping the ends of the band to fasten them and for carrying through this operation without breaking or tearing the band, For this reason an economy in stock is possible because narrower bands may be used without loss of holding efficiency. Moreover the V-shaped tabs 20, all converging to the point of intersection of the slits I8, serve to produce an appreciable guiding function, as they swing inwardly under the thrust of the tongue I5, with the result that the inserting of the tongue through the slits is rendered easier, and the tongue tends to be more accurately positioned with reference to the transverse fold-edge 2I around which the neck I 6 and corresponding tab element 20 are folded at the end of the fastening operation.

A modied form of construction is illustrated in Figures 8 to 10, in which the tab elements 20 are formed by means of slits I 8 0f H-shaped contour, and the drawing shows a band I2 having one of its end portions provided with a pair of such H-shaped contours of slits for a doublelocking function by cooperation with not only a terminal tongue element I5 at the opposite end of the band but also a secondary tongue I 5a adjacent to said first tongue I5.

In the use of this modified form, the operation is very similar to that already described in connection with the first form, as regards the projection of the tongues I5 and I5a through the slit structures, followed by the folding of said tongues backward beneath the overlapping end portions of the band, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 9. As before, each pair of cooperating tab elements 20 tend to exert a guiding function in connection with such projection or insertion of the tongues through the slitted portions of the band, and the locking action is produced 1n substantially the same manner as already described in the foregoing.

It is also pointed out that the first form of construction is likewise adapted to have the double-locking feature incorporated therein, in similar fashion, i. e., by duplicating the tongue and slit structures, as will be readily understood.

In both forms of construction it will be observed that a certain degree of adjustment is possible by virtue of the elongated neck or shank portions of the tongue elements, where the locking action is produced by a folding of the tongues backward underneath the overlapping end portions of the band, inasmuch as the locking portions may be shifted endwise of the band to accommodate the wrapping band to the size or bulk of the garment in its folded condition.

It may be pointed out that the slit structure, particularly in the form shown in Figures l to '7, is of a character adapted to facilitate the consecutive separation of the bands as they are being used, i. e. without clinging together, as compared to my prior construction. Moreover, either the ends or the middle intersecting portion of the slits, may serve as marking or index points, as a guide to regulate the extent of overlapping relation of the ends of the band, though of course other marking or indeX means may be employed for that purpose, if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A wrapping band and fastening construction for securing the band about a folded garment, comprising a long and relatively narrow strip of thin paper material forming a flexible band having one of its ends formed with a iiexible tongue having a reduced neck portion and its opposite end provided with an X-shaped slit structure forming flexible tabs tapering toward each other and movable'in unison as said tongue is thrust in between the tabs and through the band, said tongue being bent back upon itself along with an underlying tab for engagement between the body of the band and object to which the band is applied, the neck portion of said tongue being su'iciently elongated to permit preliminary adjustment of the tongue after insertion for tightening purposes prior to bending of the tongue into fastening position.

JAMES W. STEELE. 

